1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to construction techniques for slab edges and balconies and, more specifically, to thermal breaks for the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A detail that has been problematic in the construction industry concerns concrete slabs that overhang or extend beyond exterior walls of buildings, such as used for balconies, which extensions are exposed but are not thermally insulated from the main structure so that heat can propagate into or out of a building through the concrete slabs. Accordingly, these slabs can serve as heat sinks that absorb and enable heat to escape from the interior of a building and radiate it to the outside, especially on cold days. Attempts have been made to address this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,938 is for structural elements for thermal insulation and U.S. Pat. No. 7,823,352 is for a construction element for heat insulation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,457 is also for a structural element for thermal insulation. This patent discloses a structural element designed to thermally insulate two concrete components. Reinforcing rods extend through the structural element with the rods extending within each member along either side of an insulating body. The rods run diagonally through the insulating body and extend along the upper and lower edges of the insulating body.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,753 discloses a concrete slab joint construction that also makes use of diagonally extending or running rods to provide additional strength or support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,940 discloses a cantilever plate connecting assembly. This patent describes a plate assembly of an insulating body with reinforcing bars extending through it. The reinforcing bars are embedded on one side of the insulation body and, on another side, to a ceiling plate. On both sides of the insulating body there are provided plates made of stainless steel that have pressure reinforcement bars extending through it. The reinforcing bars appear to continually extend through the insulating body. This requires handling and interfacing long lengths of rebars with thermal barriers, rendering the structure and methods less convenient, time consuming to install and thus more costly to implement.